SCVA Newsletter (on-line version) – April 2008
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Using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) With Your High School
Choir
Tammi Alderman, VP II- High School Honor Choir
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system of phonetic notation
based on the Latin alphabet, devised by the International Phonetic Association
as a standardized representation of the sounds of spoken language.
In college diction classes I learned a great deal about how to pronounce
Latin, Italian, French, German and Spanish using IPA. Knowing how to correctly
enunciate the text of a piece, especially one in a language not your own is of
vital importance. Often a mispronounced word can change the meaning of the text
entirely.
I recently started using IPA in my high school classes. By teaching my
students basic IPA, and using it consistently, I am assured that we will all be
singing the same words, hopefully correctly and the students are learning a
skill that will help them a great deal in future choirs. I have found in a
short time that the results are well worth the time it takes me.
Below are some quick and easy steps to start using IPA in your choral
classroom.
1. Visit the International Phonetic Association website. They have a chart
of all sounds, sound recordings and fonts if you choose to type the
pronunciations for your students. http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ipa/ipachart.html
2. Choose one piece for each of your choirs for the next concert to
begin. Latin or Italian will be
easiest for you as well as them.
3. Write out the text to your chosen piece, leaving ample room between
lines. Below each line of regular text, write out the IPA pronunciation. Many songs are repetitive and you do
not need to write out text that repeats.
4. Copy the text/IPA sheets for all of your students. As you pronounce the
text for them, have them follow along with the IPA (not the regular text). Have
them repeat it back to you. Eventually they will be able to read basic IPA
without your help.
5. Put up basic IPA vowel and consonant posters in your classroom. Make them yourself or purchase them. I
got my set from http://www.pattidewitt.com
A small amount of time in the beginning will equal huge returns for you and your choirs. My students no longer ask me how to pronounce Latin, Italian or German. We are still working on other languages, but we now spend more time on the meaning of our words rather than how to say them.
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2008 High School Honor Choirs Are Just Around the Corner!
Rodger Guerrero VP -
High School Honor Choirs
Looking forward…
We’ve reached the homestretch of our school year, and most of us are
probably in the final stages of preparing for festivals, tours, or spring
musicals. Others are looking
towards their Spring Concerts, perhaps already considering what their musical
lives might be like next year without those dedicated, talented, experienced,
but graduating seniors. Still
others are likely pondering over potential summer activities, choral and not. With all of our minds filled with tasks
to be completed and music to be learned and perfected, it probably seems crazy
to think about next year. Yet,
insane as it may be, plans for the 2008 SCVA High School Honor Choirs have been
in the works since January!
Honestly, it takes months to set up all of the details in order to foster
a phenomenal experience for the singers.
Thus, the following specifics are already fairly certain:
1. Santa Monica H.S will again host the Honor Choirs weekend, and the dates
will almost certainly be November 14-15.
2. Auditions will occur the last Saturday in September (27th) and the first
Saturday of October (4th) as they have for quite some time.
3. All applications will be accepted online, and the deadline will, as always,
occur two weeks prior to the first weekend of auditions (Friday, September
13th).
4. More audition sites are needed, particularly in the Inland Empire, so that students
can more easily access them. To
that end, and with the desire for greater participation from Inland Empire high
schools in mind, I have proposed to the SCVA Board that the First Rehearsal
(October 25) be scheduled for a Riverside/San Bernardino area school (site TBD,
but I am accepting volunteers!).
5. Desiree La Vertu from Cal Tech has graciously agreed to conduct the 2008 SCVA
Women’s Honor Choir! I am
currently negotiating with two other, similarly high profile collegiate
conductors to work with the Men’s and Mixed Choirs. While I could not divulge their names at press time, suffice
it to say that your students who make the choirs will absolutely love singing
for them!
6. The scoring system for next year’s auditions will be exactly the same as
this year’s. It is the second of a
two-year experiment, undertaken will the full cooperation of both SCVA and
ACDA. A review of the system will
take place after the 2008 Regional Honor Choirs, and recommendations for
further alterations may be made by both participating organizations in the
spring of 2009.
7. All 2008 Honor Choirs members will be able to download mp3 files of their parts
online. The parts will be available
individually and with piano and/or full-choir accompaniment. Any student who cannot download files
will still be able to request a rehearsal CD.
8. A proposal was made to the SCVA Board to lower audition and participation fees
for 2008. The lower costs will
hopefully create a greater amount of accessibility to the choirs for a wider
range of students. A decision from
the Board is forthcoming.
Looking backwards…
As I wrote in the last SCVA Newsletter, “nothing in life is perfect, and
the Honor Choirs are no exception to this rule.” In order to facilitate input from SCVA members, and thanks
to Mark Freedkin’s expertise, an Honor Choirs Survey was posted online. While I sincerely appreciated the responses
from those who completed the survey, less than 25% of participating directors
responded. The response was too
small in order to gauge the general sentiment of SCVA members. The link: http://www.scvachoral.org/hcsurvey.php
has been reopened in order to continue the process. Please respond by April 15. I have included a copy of the survey for those who are
uncomfortable with online technology.
Simply mail it to me at my school address as listed below. I honestly, deeply care about the Honor
Choirs and all of the students who participate. Please take a moment to help SCVA make the Honor Choir
experience a better one for your students by filling out the survey today!
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SHOW CHOIR SPECTACULAR - Patty Brietag VP – Show Choirs
The website “wikipedia” says that a show choir is a group of people who
combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a
specific idea or story. Show Choir is indeed a choir that adds dance to enhance
the text and mood of a song. Students need to experience all facets of choral
music to broaden their singing experience. This last weekend, I had the
privilege of attending the All State High School Choir concert at CMEA in Sacramento.
I was proud of the four students that represented Diamond Bar High School where
I teach. This experience will be one that will be remembered fondly for the
rest of their lives. Many of the students from Southern California that were
part of All State Choir are members of choir programs that teach classical
music, have jazz choirs, have strong musical theatre programs and also have
show choir. We should never limit the scope of opportunities for our students.
If you have never considered adding show choir to your curriculum, we invite
you to attend our Show Choir Spectacular competition at El Monte High School on
May 3rd and get into the spirit and excitement of show choir in Southern
California.
Each part of the country seems to have a different concept of what show
choir is supposed to be. In North Kansas City, Missouri where I worked before
moving to California in 1994, we had two show choirs. The beginning group met
before school every day and was designed to introduce the show choir concept to
younger students, prepare a program and then perform for various scheduled
events. The advanced group was a class but each member was required to be a
member of the A Cappella Choir as well. The purpose of the group was to prepare
a varied repertoire to be performed at various functions for fund-raising
purposes. This group occasionally toured to New York and other exciting cities
and every once in a while they would travel to Iowa or Illinois to compete
against other high school show choirs. The students that were involved in this
program sang legitimate music throughout the year, participated in the
All-District, All State Choirs and Competitions, participated in classical solo
competitions, sang a varied list of choir literature and experienced a well-rounded
music education.
During the southern California competition season, eleven high schools host
adjudicated competitions in the southern California area. Fullerton College and
Riverside Community College have hosted competitions as well. Many of the southern
California high school show choirs participate in National Competitions held in
cities like, Honolulu, Chicago, Branson, Mo., and Fort Lauderdale to mention
only a few. Los Alamitos High School is traveling to Beijing, China to
participate in a show choir competition this month! Travel opportunities are
numerous and add incentives to prospective new choir members in our programs.
I would like to take this opportunity to invite all choir directors and
students to attend some of the remaining competitions in our area in the next
two months. Tickets can be purchased through the individual schools that are
hosting these events. Following is a short list of up-coming competitions:
March 21, Arcadia hosts a competition at San Gabriel Civic Auditorium
April 12, Burroughs High School of Burbank will be hosting several divisions
April 18, Disneyland hosts it’s “5,6,7,8” show choir competition
April 19, Chula Vista High School in Chula Vista CA. will be hosting their
annual competition
Having a Show Choir requires a huge time commitment from teachers. Many
hours can be spent selecting music, finding a choreographer and hiring
musicians to accompany the groups. After school rehearsals and many weekends
are spent with students from January to May. But the experiences and
competitive spirit that the students enjoy help to build teamwork skills, to
develop choral skills, to add another dimension to the choral experience and to
create lifetime friendships.
As of March 14, 2008 we have close to 30 groups registered in eight
divisions for the SCVA sponsored Show Choir Spectacular. Intermediate Mixed and
Intermediate Women are now closed, along with Novice Mixed.
As the date draws nearer, show orders will be finalized and ticket orders will be sent out to all participating schools. We are looking forward to another Spectacular show choir event and hope that you will join us!
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Vocal Solo Competition, Colleen Kennedy, VP/Vocal Solo
Competition
It was back to basics at the
final round of this year’s vocal solo competition. Adjudicators Victoria Lavan
(American Music & Dramatic Academy, Los Angeles) and Mark Goodrich
(California State University, Los Angeles) spent much of their time working
with the 41 participants on such fundamental concepts as breathing and posture.
Ms. Lavan instructed some singers to stand with their arms spread, imaging
energy extending from their fingertips, while Dr. Goodrich got a couple of the
soloists to sing while bouncing on one foot! At the end of the day, both
advised the young participants to have patience when selecting repertoire, and
to focus on literature that is suitable for their development in order to
protect their unique instruments. Students, teachers and parents were impressed
with the master class.
The final round had its moment of
crisis, though, when, at the last minute, the venue was cancelled! Tony
Azeltine, choral director at Mark Keppel High School, came to the rescue and
secured the parish hall at Holy Family Church in South Pasadena. Thank you so
much, Tony! After a flurry of frantic emails and phone calls, all were alerted
to the new venue. This year’s final round was organized a little differently
than in years past. Because of the number of preliminary sites, more singers
than ever before were advanced to the final round. With so many participants,
this round was divided into two sessions, morning and afternoon, both
adjudicated by Ms. Lavan and Dr. Goodrich. The winners were selected from the entire
day’s participants.
Drum roll please… The winners of the 2008 Vocal Solo Competition
are:
Austin Lee 8th grade La
Canada High School Anne
Cherchian, director
Davis Hansen 12th grade La
Canada High School Anne
Cherchian, director
Olivia Hernandez 12th
grade Fullerton
Union High School Scott
Hedgecock, director
Erika Higuchi 11th grade Bishop
Amat Memorial High School Linda
Corwin, voice teacher
Zoe Johnson 12th
grade Harvard-Westlake
School Rodger
Guerrero, director
Brandon Levin 11th grade Harvard-Westlake
School Rodger
Guerrero, director
Zach Wetzel 12th
grade La
Canada High School Anne
Cherchian, director
The winners will perform at the Jr.
High/Middle School Honor Choir concert on Sunday, May 4. At that time, the
final placement of the high school winners will be announced, and each of the
winners will receive their awards.
During the application process this
year, there was some confusion about the choral requirement for the vocal solo
competition. Since before I first ran the competition back in 2002, applicants
for the solo competition simply had to belong to a choral organization of some
kind, and community organizations were accepted as fulfilling that requirement.
However, because of the confusion this year, the SCVA Board is revisiting the choral
requirement issue. We are considering making the choral requirement for the
vocal solo competition the same as that for the honor choirs. Namely,
applicants would be required to be active members in their school choral
program. The Board feels that this revised requirement would maintain
consistency among the various SCVA events, and it would also better serve the
stated goal of the SCVA to promote choral music in the schools. The revised
choral requirement would take effect starting this coming fall.
As the vocal solo competition winds
down for this year, I would just like to say what a pleasure it is to be
involved with this event. From the tentative singers for whom this may be their
first solo experience to the polished “veterans”, it’s wonderful to see these
young singers strive in the vocal arts. Their achievements stand as testament
to the teachers and families who support them in their efforts. All of the
singers who participated this year are to be commended for the commitment and
hard work that they put into preparing for this event. Each has grown as a
musician, a performer, and as person because of the experience. And our choral
programs reap the rewards.
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Barbershop Harmony Festivals a Whopping Success!
Mark Freedkin & Karen Ridout, Festival Coordinators
The Harborlites Chorus held their 3rd Annual “Diva Day”
on Saturday, February 2 at Orange Coast College. Over 215 young women from 21 Southern California high
schools came together for the barbershop experience. It was exciting to have 10 first time high schools
participate this year. The girls
and their choral directors thoroughly enjoyed the day of learning and
performing four part harmony barbershop style under the direction of our guest
clinician Dede Nibler from Fresno, CA., assisted by Harborlites Director Pam
Pieson and the Harborlites Music Team.
The festival ended with an evening performance for an audience of over
400 parents, families and friends.
Our scheduled guest quartet Razzcals was unable to join us due to a bad
snow storm in the Pacific Northwest.
Chapter quartets Hypnotic, Applause, High Life, Portfolio and Orange
Crush stepped up to fill out the program which featured the Diva Day Chorus and
the 2008 International Champions Harborlites Chorus. A combined chorus of over 300 packed the risers to sing “In
My Life” to close the show, a perfect ending to a wonderful day of harmony.
The Masters of Harmony held their 8th Annual Young Men’s Harmony
Festival on Saturday, February 23 at Orange Coast College. We had 217 young men
from 27 high schools and junior high schools throughout Southern California in
attendance, and the feedback from students, parents and teachers has been
overwhelmingly positive. The evening show was nothing less than stellar, and it
featured the young men’s chorus, quartets from La Habra High School and Jurupa
Valley High School, guest quartets OC Times, Gotcha! and the Masters of
Harmony, culminating with a combined finale with over 300 singers on stage.
This year’s event brings our eight-year total to just over 1,700 students who
have participated in one or more of our festivals.
Plans are already underway for next year’s Festivals. The women’s festival is tentatively planned for Saturday, February 7, 2009, and the men’s festival is tentatively planned for Saturday, February 21, 2009. Please watch the SCVA website for more information as it becomes available.
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Something New - Chris Hall, Maria Fritts & Jennifer Stanley
We have a new and easier way for choral teachers to respond to the
Festival Questionnaire and Choral Adjudication Evaluation. In the past these forms have been in
your festival packet given to you at the end of your festival. We have asked you to write your
comments and return them by mail to Chris Hall. This year these forms are again in your packet and now also
ON LINE for your convenience.
Please take a moment after you return to school from your festival to
reflect on the experience. The
Middle School and High School Festival Chairpersons, Maria Fritts and Jennifer
Stanley read the forms and take this information seriously. We wish to continue to make the
festival experience better every year for both teachers and students. Go to www.scvachoral.org and click on Festival information. These two forms will be listed there. Fill them out and click on send. That’s it, no stamps or walking to the
mail room.
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Vocal Jazz – Jamie Shew, VP/Jazz Choir
The SCVA Vocal Jazz Festival was a great success!!! I’d like to extend a very special thank
you to April Dooley of Saugus HS, Robert Petersen of Warren HS, Shawn Tayler of
Katella HS, Jennifer Page of Vista Murrieta HS, Tony Azeltine of Mark Keppel
HS, Roger Estrada of Upland HS, and Jill DeWeese of Fullerton Academy of the
Arts for making it such a wonderful day of music making and sharing. Another thank you goes out to Jennifer
Barnes and Matt Falker for being our adjudicators and clinicians that day. Each group received helpful written
comments from them as well as an on-stage clinic. Students also participated in a vocal styling and
improvisation clinic by Matt and Jennifer – they even had the opportunity to
scat over a very Samba “Happy Birthday”!!!
More California vocal jazz festivals to consider are:
*March 7 – Mt. San Antonio College Vocal Jazz Festival, Walnut, CA
*March 7-8 – Columbia College Vocal Jazz Festival, Sonora, CA
*March 14-15 – Oceanside Jazz Festival (Mira Costa College), Oceanside, CA www.mattfalker.com
*March 28—Val Verde Jazz Festival at Rancho Verde H.S., Riverside, CA http://www.valverde.edu
*April 4-5—Fullerton College Jazz Festival, Fullerton, CA http://fcfinearts.fullcoll.edu/jazzfest
(Sorry for my shameless plug!!! We
are continuing the College/University component to the festival this year. This is a great opportunity for your
students to hear a variety of colleges and universities and possibly visit with
the directors!)
*April 19—Royal HS Vocal Jazz Festival
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VOCAL ASSOCIATION
Presents the
2008 Junior High School / 9th Grade Honor Choir
And
2008 Vocal Solo Contest Winners
“In Concert”
Sunday, May 4, 2008
3:30 P.M.
Alhambra High School Auditorium
101 S. Second St., Between Commonwealth and Main
Alhambra, CA
Tickets $5 at the Door. Doors open at 3:00P.M.
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Other Important Information
On-Line SCVA Membership Application